Charles Patrick Edwards (Populist America)
Charles Patrick Edwards was the 48th President of the United States, serving from 2029 to 2037 upon the expiration of his term by the 22nd Amendment. Edwards was a central figure in world events during the early-21st century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and global instability. Edwards won his first presidential election in 2028, while the United States was in the depths of the Second Depression. His combination of optimism and revolutionary economic activism is often credited with saving the US from total economic collapse and creating the first Populist Economy on a national scale. He led the United States through the Flood War, and was succeeded by his vice president Ivory Toldson. Edward's approach to the economic situation he inherited is known as Populism. Populism is an economic theory, much like Capitalism or Socialism, based around a regulated private enterprise economy, with certain services defined as economic rights; i.e. a home, a job, medical insurance, etc. For Edwards this was defined in the Second Bill of Rights, a series of new constitutional amendments first proposed by President Franklin Roosevelt after the Second World War, that provide economic security for America's citizenry. Prior to the SBR however, Edwards issued several executive orders and smaller legislation that included the break-up of financial institutions purchased by the government and put up for bid; legislation that created new government agencies, such as the Public Works Administration and the Public Recovery Administration, with the intent of finding everyone in America a job who wants one. As the Flood Wars began in 2027, with Chinese occupation of South-East Asia and the rise of Şahin in Turkey, Edwards kept the US on an ostensibly neutral course. Once war broke out in the Pacific, however, Edwards provided Lend-Lease aid to the countries fighting against Caliph Turkey and Grey China, with Poland and Japan the recipient of the most assistance. With the Chinese attack on the United States on Thanksgiving day of 2031, Edwards immediately asked for and received a declaration of war against the Pan-Asian Allies. The nearly total mobilization of the US economy to support the war effort, caused a rapid recovery. Edwards dominated the American political scene, not only during the eight years of his presidency, but for decades afterwards. His presidency created a realignment that dominated American politics until the election of Adan Alvarez in 2088. Edwards' economic impact also resonated on the world stage long after his death, with Populism becoming the standard global economic theory by 2048 is a testament to his administration's wide ranging impact. Edwards is also widely remembered for being the first Augment to hold office, which he hid from the public throughout his political career. Edwards is rated by historians as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents. Personal Life Charles Patrick Edwards had spent the first third of his life as a self described, "single geeky bachelor," rarely dating and have an obsessive fixation on his work. In 2019 Edwards met Marie Shannon, a law professor hired on to Blue Origin's legal team during the anti-trust scandal. Shannon and Edwards had an on again off again relationship until 2022 when Edwards and Shannon joined in a civil union, Edwards not believing in the idea of Marriage. The two continued to have a strong relationship as they both pursued their own careers, Edwards living in the North-West, and Shannon living on the East-Coast. In 2023 Shannon gave birth to their first child, Mika Edwards Shannon; having their second child in 2025 when Marie was forced to leave her home in Washington D.C. during the floods, Donald Shannon Edwards. Upon entering office, Edwards and Shannon began to have a more tenuous relationship, Edwards and Shannon both perusing their own careers, and sometimes finding themselves in opposition to each-other politically. In Edwards autobiography, The Greatest Game he mentions that his relationship with Marie was at times held together only by their children. Throughout his life, Edwards was well known for his love of animals, and could rarely do without at least one pet in his life at a time. A lover of dogs from a young age, upon entering office, Edwards brought his golden retriever "Hannah," to the White House; who became one of the more beloved presidential pets and was usually seen as the unofficial escort to Don or Mika while they were in the White House. Hannah was so large in fact that it was not uncommon to see Don ride the dog like a horse from time to time. While Hannah was the White House family pet, Edwards had another animal companion that drew many surprised reactions by the White House staff and the media when he first entered office. This was of course Edwards' pet Kestrel, "Aden." Edwards was the first president to have a small aviary built in the White House garden next to the organic garden first started by first lady Michele Obama. Typically Aden would spend her days chasing the occasional pigeon off the grounds, or being trained by the President or Mika. Edwards was also the most heavily tatooed President, having most of his right arm covered in body art along with his right pectoral. This caused some controversy on the campaing, however during an interview with Rolling Stone, then Governor Edwards made history by remvoing his shirt and allowing the magazine to take photographs of his exposed arm and chest. The cover of the magazine had his arm centered, showing the names of his children on his chest, a celtic ring depicting an earthrise on his shoulder, and his family crest on forarm. The cover was a hit and showed that Edwards used body art as an act of expression and rememberence for the things he loved. Early Career Edwards graduated from the Florida Institute of Technology with his BA in Aerospace Engineering in 2012, minoring in International Politics. Shortly after graduating Edwards brought together a team of his fellow graduates and a few old friends from his home state of Washington to form Mariner Aerospace, a start up whose initital funding came largely from fellow US Congressional Page, and lifelong friend Philip Khosla. The company struggled for its first two years of existance, working mainly as an aerospace systems repair service, while dedicating what funds it could into R&D to continue a university project. When the work with hypersonics finally took off, Edwards began to demonstrate himself as a skillfull buisnessman and innovative leader. By 2018 the company was the largest co-op in the world, pulling in more money than Prat & Whinteny and eventually buying out General Electric. Mariner eventually bought out and took the name of former private space flight firm Blue Origin, becoming one of the largest aerospace contractors in the world. During the early years of Blue Origin, Edwards presided over more black projects than any other company at the time, developing a number of advanced aircraft and communication systems that would one day make their way into the military Edwards would command as president. Many of these programs have still not been declassified, however many speculate that prior to his election to the governorship of Washington, Edwards and Blue Origin developed in secret the human pilot emulating AI that would form the backbone of the modern Air Force's fleet of unmanned craft. Governor of Washington First Term In 2020 Edwards was as well renowned as a genius in the business world as Lee Iacocca, many people even went so far as to compare him with a modern Edison. Swimming in a sea of popularity as the elected head of the Pacific North West's largest employer after Boeing, and during the 2020 Washington Gubernatorial Elections, many were calling on Edwards to run. With many people disappointed over the leadership of Governor Brad Owen over the last four years, Edwards looked like a fresh face for Washington. He easily defeated Governor Owen for the office on a campaign of ending the state deficit and implementing a new economic policy that would drive job growth and better salaries for much of the state. Edwards was arguably the most dynamic governor Washington had ever seen, acting more directly with state policy than most governors dared to in the past. Edwards first action upon entering office was to restructure the state tax code to promote start up businesses, and more specifically cooperatives like Mariner, now Blue Origin. He passed a law that would grant large tax breaks to all new start ups and small businesses in Washington, but arguably the most radical was a law that made co-ops exempt from all business taxes for their first year. Edwards was called a lunatic by much of the countries leading business experts; but to the shock of the entire financial sector, Washington's per-capita GDP skyrocketed from 2021 to 2023, leveling off shortly before the depression. With other policies that encouraged co-optative businesses, Washington eventually surpassed every state with it's the number of co-op businesses. Edwards Tax reforms didn't stop there, he placed much heavier taxes on pollution and the strictest Greenhouse Gas emission penalty in the nation, driving many businesses away, but giving other start-ups a chance to grow, producing a net-growth in jobs. Edwards cut spending to a number of state projects, killing plans for a new mass transit network, and raising taxes by about 2% on everyone in the state. The plan was controversial, and not well received, but few could argue with the results, by 2024 the state had the largest surplus in the union, and with a higher per-capita GDP than any other state, few were really suffering under the new Taxes. Edwards also implemented many new concepts to governing that most state legislatures and even to some degree the federal government uses to this day. Edwards was first Governor to institute a Parliamentary style questioning period similar to what British Prime Ministers must regularly participate. This policy made doing business with the state legislator considerably easier, especially for those who knew that they couldn't hold a candle to Edwards in a debate. One of his more unique policies was his personal expense of a supercomputer that was given to Washington's budgeting office. This program allowed the Governor and legislators to accurately predict economic patterns and how new legislation might effect the state budget and the economy in the long term. Eventually the legislator created a provision within the budget that required all legislation to be processed by both humans and supercomputers before being sent on for a final vote. Second Term In 2024 Edwards was losing popularity, his tax policies towards businesses were loved, but his income taxes were considered too harsh, and many could not see the need with the huge surplus. Edwards continued to stress how an economic crisis was on the horizon and would be far worse than any in the nation's history. Most economists laughed at this notion, and Edwards was almost guaranteed to lose to a Libertarian in 2024. However, once again prevailing economic opinion would be shattered by the voices of a few lunatics. The Second Depression came just in time for the election, and Washington was the only state other than Oregon and Michigan (both having implemented Edwards's policies on Taxes and spending) to have a budget surplus. Layoffs in Washington were the lowest in the nation, and Edwards immediately shifted from a High Tax, Low Spending policy, to a Low Tax, High Spending policy. Edwards cut taxes on everyone and everything, save for the richest one percent, and eliminated taxes for small community banks when the largest financial institutions in the nation came crashing down around themselves. He pored money into civil works programs, building schools, rebuilding roads, and bridges; and the largest civics development program in the state's history, building new Sustainable Cities within Seattle and Tacoma. These programs all aided in keeping Washington in a state of economic decline rather than depression, and while foreclosures were still high, the number of people able to get new homes was so great that homelessness in Washington rarely shifted far from where it was before the depression. Edwards was seen as a hero by his state, and when the election day finally came he handily defeated his opponent with the campaign slogan, ''Edwards; Right from the Start. '' In 2025 Edwards signed the Washington Economic Bill of Rights, which became the model for the eventual Second Bill of Rights he would help pass as President. The plan brought a flood of refugees from the East Coast to Washington, and with the state actually in need of more workers than it had, the flood of skilled labor was welcome. The State economy grew as so many others fell, and it wasn't long before it became obvious to most who the wises economic guru in the country was. Edwards called his economic theorem Populism; merging the ideas of FDR, Huey Long, Theodore Roosevelt, and John Keynes into a hodge podge of what many conservatives called "Socialism in Drag." 2028 Presidential Election Edwards had been actively building a political coalition for a future election since his re-election as Washington's governor in 2024, building himself up as a Rooseveltian figure among liberals and forming a coalition with Populist Libertarians and Progressives across the nation. Running as an independent Edwards defied many of the conventions of traditional poltics, he was diplomatic yet passionate; he was a liberal and never appologized about it; he not only took attacks from opponents, but could dish out some of the most devistating responses yet known. As Governor of the most populous state in the Union and very influential throughout the rest of the West Coast, Edwards already had a significant advantage over his opponents, all but one hailing from underpopulated states. Garnering support with his record as a reformer and his inspiring rhetoric, Edwards easily swept the old blue states, and states where the refugee crisis had only gotten worse under President Narain. By June when the parties were still planning their respective conventions, Edwards was building support from in Illinois, gaining a major endorsement from former President Barack Obama, and taking the lead in the polls along the Rust Belt and East Coast. By August the first debate of the election quickly went in Edwards' favor after he dominated President Narain on the economic rights of the American people. Edwards' established himself as calm under pressure, but aggressive when it called for it. What defined his campaign was his call for radical change in the US economic system, citing his sucess in Washington and the adaption of those policies in Oregon and Michigan. Edwards called for nothing less than a total reorganization in the way the American economy was run, drawing fire from libertarians and conservatives and being called every name in the book. In September Edwards announced popular Virginia Senator Ivory Toldson as his running mate, and began to cement his lead. As Libertarians and Republicans fought amongst themselves for the Conservative vote, Edwards railroaded his way past the Democrats and was elected with a 58% majority of the vote, carrying 38 states. President Edwards was the first President to have sworn the Oath of Office on a copy of the US Constitution instead of a Bible, and did not have an opening or closing prayer. Jamie Foxx performed the national anthem. First Term When Edwards was inaugurated in January 2029, the U.S. was at the middle of the worst depression in its history. A quarter of the workforce was unemployed, farmers were unable to keep cope with the ecological disaster of the flood, and the price of food went up 60%. Industrial production had fallen by more than half since 2020. Thirty-Two million were homeless or displaced. Due to the lack of employment, organized crime and general lawlessness were on the rise, no worse than in California. Historians categorized Edwards's program as "total economic overhaul" Relief was urgently needed by 100 million people who were unemployed. Recovery was needed to boost the economy back to normal. Reform was needed for meant long-term fixes of what was wrong, especially with the financial, healthcare and banking systems. Edwards' series of internet talks and the recreation of the Citizen's Briefing Book, allowed for proposals to flow directly to and from the American public. People's Deal Edward's first 100 days concentrated on the first part of his strategy: immediate relief. From January 20 to May 3, 2029, he sent Congress a record number of bills, all of which passed easily. Like so many president's before him, he saw the Depression caused in part by people no longer spending or investing because they were afraid. His inauguration on January 20, 2029, occurred at the height of a bank panic, hence the backdrop for his famous inaugural address. The very next day Congress passed the Banking Bailout Act which bailed out a number of banks by the federal government, but required them to reform business practices and allow for a temporary ease of borrowing for customers. This was his first proposed step to recovery, and allowed for an easier, albeit well regulated, flow of funds from the banks driving people to be more confident in their spending. A provision of the bill stated that once the banks reached a point of financial stability they would be permitted to re-enter the private sector. Relief measures included the recreation of Presidents Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration. With so much of the regulatory agencies dismantled under the Narain presidency, Edwards spent his first month recreating agencies that had previously existed. However, when Congress approved the recreation of theses agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission they were given much more broad new regulatory powers than before. Upon being brought back to life these agencies implemented one of Edwards most radical relief policies, the pardoning of all debt held to banks bailed out by the Government, providing mortgage relief to millions of farmers and homeowners. Edwards expanded another Roosevelt era agency, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, making it a major source of financing to mag-lev rail-lines and industry. Edwards made agriculture relief a high priority and set up the second Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA). The AAA first assignment was to work with farmers, botanists, and architects to build enough vertical farms in every major city to supply all metropolitan food production. The farms would be given to private farmers after 1 year of initial testing following their completion. Reform of the economy was the goal of the Democratic Economy Act. It placed far stricter anti-trust, and investment regulation, and required all businesses to give an equal share of their company to their employees, the same policy Edwards conducted as elected CEO of Blue Origin. This policy was met with villament criticism by Libertarians and Conservatives, but oddly enough found support from many Republicans, who were in the process of major reform of the party. Edwards was called a communist, a socialist, a fascist, and after he explained to Conservatives that they didn't actually know what any of those words meant, he proclaimed, "that it is time for America to lead the way in the future of the global economic system, we must be a country that says that competition must be key to progress, but it must be fair; that wealth must not be hated, but it must not be fully trusted either, and that companies must be run democratically to prevent an imbalance of power between rich and poor." Recovery was pursued through federal spending on a The NIRA included $3.3 trillion of spending through the Public Works Administration to stimulate the economy, which was to be handled by Interior Secretary Kevin Bell. President Edwards worked with Republican Senator Nathan Khosola to create the largest government-owned industrial enterprises in American history, which included the American Magnetic Rail Project which created the modern American public transit network; the National Plasma Converter Fund which severely eliminated municipal waste in the US and gave industries a steady supply of resources as mineral deposits depleted; and the Energy Independence Act, which funded the installation of renewable energy sources across the country while funding research into room temperatures superconductors and a wireless power grid. The repeal of the War on Drugs under President Narain also allowed for new tax revenues and helped him keep a major campaign promise. Edwards tried to keep his campaign promise by cutting the federal deficit, which had dropped significantly under the Narain years, but with low taxes its decline wasn't very steady. Edwards kept taxes low during the depression, keeping to his Keynesian policy of low taxes, high spending during economic depression, and planning to raise taxes and cut spending when the economy stabilized. Taxes did go up under Edwards, but it was essentially a net change to those under the Obama administration, which were considerably low. Taxes on the rich were raised to 70%, and when Edwards drew criticism he simply stated, "Enjoy these low taxes while they last." Second Bill of Rights While the People's Deal had done much to rebuild America's economy, there was always concern that a generation later a new administration would make the same mistakes that this one had worked so hard to prevent. Something far more permanent than just law had to be done. During the 2030 State of the Union Address, the President made a historic call to action, the creation of an economic bill of rights, a series of amendments that would guarantee certain economic liberties just as the first bill of rights guarantees social liberties. With the 2030 midterms going hugely in favor of candidates championing populism, the odds of its passage were all but assured. Edwards modeled the amendments off of those originally proposed by FDR in 1944, shortly before his death. The Amendments are as follows: *The right to a useful and remunerative job for all citizens who seek one, shall not be infringed. *The right of the people to a living wage, adequate to support themselves and a reasonable amount of time for recreation, shall not be violated. *The federal government may regulate the markets and businesses from unfair competition and monopolies. *The right of every family to a decent home. *The right to adequate medical care from birth; and the right to seek it though means both from the government and the market. *The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment. *The right to a good education, to be paid for up to the first two years of higher education. *The right of every employee to have an equal stake in his company, though shared ownership. Thanksgiving Day Attacks After the Chinese State occupied Northern Indochina in late 2030, Edwards authorized increased aid to the Republic of China. In July 2031, after China occupied the remainder of Indochina, Edwards ordered an embargo of all Chinese goods coming into the US. China thus lost more than 65 percent of its export capital. Edwards continued negotiations with the Chinese government. Meanwhile he started shifting the Pacific fleet to within 50 miles off of US territorial waters. On November 6, 2031, President Edwards ordered the military to begin an orbit of D-16 Air born Lasers around major US cities and place a number of advanced tactical laser nuclear countermeasures on high alert around the country's military bases. On the morning of November 24, 2031, the American D-8 high altitude reconnoissance dirigible the USS Kitty Hawk was destroyed while over Japan by a Chinese fighter squadron; the whole crew of 20 men and women are killed. The Kitty Hawk was the first reconnoissance airship to be destroyed during the attacks, and between 7:15 to 9:45 every single American dirigible was destroyed over the Pacific. By the time NORAD had received word of the attack China had already penetrated US Airspace and began a full scale attack on the American mainland destroying military bases and certain key infrastructure points. President Edwards and his family barely escaped with their lives when the planes had reached the capitol, and struck the white house. By the end of the Thanksgiving Day attacks, nearly 130,000 American lives had been lost to the Chinese, the US was under a nation wide blackout, and the vast majority of what was left of the US military fighting force had been destroyed. The Pacific fleet had been all but sunk, only the USS John F. Kennedy and the USS Theodore Roosevelt remained of the carrier fleet. Most of the US Ohio and Virginia Class submarines had survived the attack, with only the USS New Hampshire having been sunk. As for the rest of the surface fleet only the USS Zumwalt remained of the destroyers, and the entire LCS fleet had been sunk. Defense Secretary Robert Grandon also perished in the attacks when his plane was shot down over Kansas. Antiwar sentiment in the United States evaporated overnight and the country united behind Edwards. It is at this time Edwards gave the famous "Darkest Hour Speech" in which he said this:"Few times in our history have we been met with a challenge such as this; a nation will call into question our willingness to defend ourselves, our willingness to fight for our liberties; on Thanksgiving Day, 2031, the Chinese State made such an accusation in the form of the brutal and sudden murder of over 130,000 American servicemen and civilians. The United States will answer that call to safeguard liberty, for in our darkest hour we shall win through!" Despite the wave of anger that swept across the U.S. in the wake of the Thanksgiving Day Attacks, Edwards decided from the start that while the defeat of Grey China had to take priority, forces in Europe had to be directed to defeat Calif Turkey, who Edwards believed would be the long term threat. On December 1, 2031, this strategic decision was made easier to implement when Turkey declared war on the United States. Edwards met with Chernov in late December and planned a broad informal alliance between the U.S., Russia, Western Europe and the Republic of China, with the objectives of halting the Turkish advances in the Caucuses and in Central Asia; launching an invasion of southern Europe with the aim of crushing Calif Turkey between two fronts; and saving Japan and defeating China. This strategy received its greatest set back when the European Union declared neutrality in the war, leaving President Edwards only with Eastern Europe as his only front against the Calif in Europe. The US began its lend lease policies to Poland to feed their growing military at the end of the 2031. During this entire ordeal the US Capitol was temporarily relocated to Phillidelphia as the White House underwent reconstruction. The Flood War During the 2028 campaign Edwards had taken a middle of the road stance on China and Turkey, proclaiming that he would do all he could to keep the US out of a war in Asia, but should the Chinese or the Turks attack US interests or the United States itself he would respond militarily. In reality Edwards was almost certain that there would be war between at the very least the US and China over resources in the Pacific; a conclusion that he had come to as early as his university days. Upon entering office Edwards quietly worked with hawks on the hill as well as directly with defense contractors to begin a steady re-fit of the US military which had technologically fallen behind under the Narain administration. The goal of which was to at the very least have new weapon systems that would be ready for deployment at least a year after a war would break out. Following the Thanksgiving Day Attacks and the subsequent US response at the Battle of Japan, these weapon systems began to be introduced, or in some cases re-introduced, into the US military. Edwards pushed for a radically different approach to warfare than had been seen in the last century, attacking with much smaller forces utilizing unmanned systems and limiting civilian casualties. While this was pursued initially as necessity for the undermanned military, it eventually became the key to victory in Asia, where traditional land warfare had proven futile time and again. The Edwards administration also persued a number of new economic policies during the war to find any way to get a leg up on the Pan-Asians, who collectively ounumbered the Allies in almost every way. His most radical of policies was the Defense Strategic Resources Act, by which all nautral resources were nationalized, this included garbage and human waste. Plasma Gasification facilities were built in mass during the war to turn the nations mniciple waste into useable materials, and sewage treatment plants were converted to recycle human waste into fertilizer or methane. Rationing was strictly enforced to supply the war effort, and companies were required to build what was needed to supply the military. 2032 Presidential Election The 2032 Election was seen by most of the country's parties as an exercise in futility. Edwards was seen in the zeitgeist as the man who saved the country from economic ruin and a great leader in a time of global crisis. Edwards campaigned on his People's Deal programs against Connecticut Governor Brian Dreager and Senator Mary Cheney. Cheney accepted much of the People's Deal but objected that it was hostile to business and involved too much waste, while Dreager was villamently opposed to Populism in general. Edwards and Toldson won 61.2% of the vote and carried every state except Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The Populist Democrats and Greens won even larger majorities in Congress. Edwards was backed by a coalition of voters which included traditional liberal across the country, small farmers, IT experts, Mormons, big city proffessionals, labor unions, northern African Americans, Muslims, intellectuals and non believers. This coalition, frequently referred to as the Populist coalition, remained largely intact for the Democratic and Green Parties until the 2050s. Second Term Assassination Attempt On October 26th 2036, President Edwards was making a speech to the citizens of Colorado Springs when a shot was fired from a nearby apartment block. The President was hit in the left lung, and was rushed quickly to hospital as secret service agents arrested Owen Whiticar, the assassin. He made a full recovery, although Vice President Toldson took over the post of Acting President for seven hours whilst President Edwards was in emergency surgery in Denver. Operation Phantom Fury Officials in the U.S. Defense Department believed that the quickest way to defeat China would be a direct invasion of Korea across the Sea of Japan. Sato, wary of the casualties he feared this would entail, favored a more indirect approach, advancing northwards from the South East Asia, giving Japan more time to recover and act as a hub for al future assaults. Edwards rejected this plan, knowing all too well the risks of large scale warfare in the jungles of Indochina. On April 18, 2033 the US began Operation Phantom Fury, a massive invasion of the Korean Peninsula with the expressed goal of establishing a foothold in Asia and the liberation of Korea. The invasion was a huge success, with minimal casualties. Korea was liberated within the month, and as China prepared to retake Korea, the US launched a second invasion from Taiwan to the relatively undefended Chinese South East. American, Japanese, Taiwanese and Korean resistance fighters continued to work in concert on all fronts, launching special operations on what remained of the Chinese defense infrastructure until they had secured upper and lower China, leaving only the interior and the coastal cities form Shainghai and Beijing in Chinese hands. VC Day and War's End As Coalition forces continued to launch special operations into the Chinese heartland, they found themselves met with more and more concentrated defenses. However, with the way warfare had changed in recent years to a more robotic oriented system, with soldiers becoming modern knights, the Chinese could do little to stop the advancement of the coalition once it had started. Civil unrest was coming to fruition in China, and with all military infrastructure decimated by the coalition, and any attempt to rebuild made impossible by relentless assault of unmanned aircraft, the country could not realisitically defned itself for long after Fantom Fury. On April 18th, 2034 China official surrenedered unconditionally to the Coalition in the Forbidden City. With China under Coalition occupation, President Edwards could dedicate more forces to the fight against the Turks. US unmanned bombers stationed from within the Chinese Interior were able to hammer Turkish occupied Central Asia for weeks, giving the Russians and Indians time to Push Turkey out of Central Asia. With a path cleared the US marched though the middle East with the Indians and Pashtun as Russia and Poland made their push in Eastern Europe and the Caucuses. On August 2, 2035 Turkey Fell to the Poles, and the Flood Wars officially came to an end. Civil Liberties Edwards was a firm believer that people must be given the rights to do as they choose to their own bodies, and that nothing beyond action separated anybody from anyone else when it came to civil rights. However, as President, he was reluctant to tackle many of the pressing issues of the day until after he was re-elected and a victory in Asia seemed assured. Edwards did make the biggest stride in women's rights in a decade, by signing into law the Kate McCreedy Act into law, which allowed women to serve in any branch of the armed forces, just as her male counterparts could. Cabinet Legacy Quotes "Let it be known that it was here in Washington where American started to change; here where the people took back the economy for themselves; here where the people decided that they'd had enough of the same old lies and broken promises of the crooks and liars who have ran our country into the ground." -Speaking to a crowd in Olympia after signing Washington State's Economic Bill of Rights. "Our government has abandoned those who's homes now rest beneath the waves, and who's jobs have vanished into thin air. For those people, my fellow citizens, you have a home in this state, and we welcome all who wish to start anew in Washington." -Speaking in Seattle, shortly after President Narain refused to deploy troops to the flooded zones of the country. "There are Corporatists in America, and they want us to stay quite and accept the way things are as a historical constant; well that isn't good enough for me, and I know it isn't good enough for you. I'm running fro president, and I'm coming for blood!" -In Indiana in 2028, after a man claimed that the market would solve the depression. "America is a country that has always had it share of petty bickering and family rivalry, but whenever a crisis tries to end us, we stand united as brothers and sisters," -Speaking before the relocated Congress about forming a coalition government. "Chancellor Xíng, after what happened yesterday, know that whatever you do, whatever you say, the United States and her allies will find you - and believe me, we will burn Beijing to the ground when we get there -Edwards' response to Chancellor Xíng's request that the US agree to concessions following the Thanksgiving day attacks. Personality Edwards was notorious for his defense of the US constitution, often being quoted that it was the one thing he would never compromise. He was often found late at night in the Oval office looking over reports from local government officials to get a better understanding on the state of the Economy, and possessed an incredible amount of empathy towards the common man. Unlike President Obama, President Edwards followed a take no prisoners form of politics, using coercian and political threats to get what he wanted, and defying most liberal conventions by drawing lines in the sand and refusing to budge from an issue he believed deserved attention. Category:Populist America Category:People (Populist America) Category:Presidents of the United States Category:Presidents (Populist America)